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In continuing to profile the potential picks of the 2019 NBA Draft, Ja Morant is next in that series. He is a 6’3 point guard playing for Murray State University. Morant was born in Dalzell, South Carolina. His father Tee Morant also played basketball and was a high school teammate of the great NBA Champion Ray Allen.
Morant went to Crestwood High School in Sumter, South Carolina. By the time he graduated, he was the school’s leader in scoring with 1,679 points. Morant averaged 27 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists per game over his final two years in high school. He was also named All-Region MVP during his time in high school.
Morant was not highly recruited coming out of high school. He received offers from NCAA Division one schools like South Carolina State, Wofford, Maryland Eastern Shore and Dusquesne.
Ultimately he chose to attend Murray State University and is a standout there. In 32 games last season on an average of 34 minutes per game Morant averaged 12.7 points, 6.3 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game in his freshman season. He shot 45.9 percent from the field, 30.7 percent from behind the arc and 80.6 percent from the free throw line.
He has improved dramatically. Now in his sophomore year, he is averaging 22 points, 9.9 assists and 7 rebounds per game through his first 12 games this season.
He has become a bigger part of the Murray State game plan averaging 34.8 minutes per game and he has doubled his shots made to 8 per game and taking 15 shot attempts compared to the 9.1 he took per game last season. Murray State University head coach, Matt McMahon, had the following to say about Morant:
"It's critical to our success when you can add a player of his calibre. I like his unselfishness, competitiveness and he's always putting the team first. It's contagious within the team."
Morant is listed as a potential top 10 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft come June, therefore, let us take a look now at his strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths
There are certain intangibles that no coach can teach a player like speed and intensity. Ja Morant plays basketball with both. He is fast with or without the basketball. Morant uses his speed to change direction and hesitation dribble moves that throw defenders off.
Morant plays with a super motor. He is always running whether he is filling the lane on a fast break or slashing and cutting in the half court sets. Another great intangible skill that he brings to the court is athleticism at 6’3 he can finish above the rim.
Morant uses his dribbling skills well. He keeps it alive weaving in and out of traffic looking to find an opportunity to attack the rim or find teammates for open shots. His passing skills are quite good as well.
Morant somewhat reminds you of two NBA guards. His ability to play at maximum speed and create passes with flair off of the dribble remind you of Steve Nash. His ability to throw the alley-oop pass reminds one of Chris Paul especially when he played with Blake Griffin at Los Angeles.
Morant also uses his dribble well to create step back or pull up jump shots for himself. Defensively, his speed helps him get into the passing lanes to deflect and steal passes. Morant also rebounds extremely well for a 6’3 guard at both ends of the floor.
His intensity on the floor or very compete level most likely helps with his rebounding. Morant plays over 35 minutes a game. This equates for the minutes most dominant NBA starters receive so no one can question his fitness and stamina.
Weaknesses
Morant is 6’3 and 175 pounds. At the NBA level, he may want to add more muscle and strength to remain competitive at the pro level.
Defensively, he needs to get more aggressive. He tends to run under screens giving ball handlers and shooters space and time to create offence. It may be communication with teammates but at the pro level, he will want to fight through picks especially to avoid his teammates having to switch and potentially giving the offence favourable one-on-one matchups.
Morant, while showing strong passing skills and good ball handling, will want to clean up his assist to turnover ratio. So far, in his collegiate career, he’s averaging 7 assists to 3 turnovers per game. While he is playing more minutes at 35.4 per game this season compared to 34 minutes last season his 4.8 per game turnover average is significantly higher than last season at 2.5 per game. This season he has 4 games with 5 or more turnovers and one with 10.
Morant shows an ability to shoot the three-pointer and with range well beyond the arc. The problem though is he does not shoot the three efficiently. His three-point field goal average is just 30 percent in his two years.
Morant will want to work on developing consistency of this skill at the pro level. He has just three games shooting the three-ball at a higher percentage of 33.3, that must improve.
The NBA Draft is still six months away. NBADRAFT.net lists Morant as the potential third pick. Teams like the Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers are projected to be the teams with the best shot at drafting in the top five in June.
With Atlanta having drafted Trae Young in 2018 and the Cavaliers having drafted Collin Sexton, the Chicago Bulls might be the best fit for Morant. There is still plenty of time for NBA franchises to move up or down the standings and either wind up in the lottery or not. Morant has also moved well up the rankings of potential draftees and has the talent to play in the NBA.
